Subheadline:

Move to start early next year

Longtime Bluffton resident Garfield Moss earned a big victory Wednesday night, winning unanimous approval from the town's Historic Preservation Commission to relocate the historic Graves House from Calhoun Street to a five-acre tract of land he owns near the corner of Lawrence and Wharf streets.

The vote by the commission was the final hurdle, and Moss said the moving would start early in 2014 after the holidays.

"This is very exciting," said Moss, who plans to rent the home out following its relocation. "We already have five houses on that land. We have my house, two carriage houses and two more small houses.

"We're basically creating our own little Bluffton, and I hope this is something people will enjoy."

Preservation of the home will be split into relocation and rehabilitation phases. After all salvageable doors and windows are removed and the existing roof is lowered, the house will be framed between two 10-foot temporary walls with steel beams running underneath the floors. The house would then be divided in half, and each part, along with an addition to the back of the house, would be moved separately via trucks.

Once it's in its new location, the house will be reassembled with as much original material as possible, according to the town staff's report.

The relocation phase must be finished by June 30, 2014, while rehabilitation must be complete by June 30, 2015.

Moss said that the house's relocation could cost around $20,000 on top of what he estimated to be anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000 he has already spent planning the move.

"When we first started this a few months ago, we thought we'd be able to just move a deteriorating house," Moss said. "It's turned out to be a little bigger and a little more than that. It was a bit more than we bargained for, but we're happy the way this turned out. This house is very important to the community."

The 98-year-old, 1,900-square foot house was purchased last summer by the Bluffton United Methodist Church, which received approval from the commission in May 2012 to tear the structure down, despite objections from town planning staff and others.

Since then, the church has been in talks with Moss to relocate and preserve the home.

Local architect William Court, who serves as a long-term planner for the church, said a community center would be built on the current Graves House site.

"We're here to reiterate our support for this application," Court said Wednesday night. "This is a great opportunity for the house to be preserved."

Commission chairman James Brown applauded Moss for taking on the task of preserving the house.

"It's been heartbreaking to watch the house go into further disrepair," he said, "but if there is a chance this property can be brought back to life and even have a family living in it, then it's something I think we have to get behind."